Soul4Real has taken two tracks from a 2007 CD compilation "Rare & Unreleased Recordings From The Golden Reign Of The
Queen Of Soul". Both are outtakes from "Aretha Arrives" album in 1967.
The A side "So Soon" was also recorded by/credited to Donnie Elbert and was the first
single release on Glenn Gunton's, now defunct, Joe Boy label in
1997.
The Joe Boy sleeve notes states that Elbert wrote the song when he
moved to England circa 1968 and recorded an acetate of it. So quite how
it came to be recorded by Aretha as a outtake/reject for her 1967 album
which credits Van McCoy as the writer is a mystery? There is speculation
that the vocal sounds more like McCoy or his cohort Chris Bartley, so
perhaps that is more likely the answer. The Joe Boy version is included below and you can decide.
The B side is a cover of an early James Brown song "It Was You" which he recorded in July 1959 on Federal which Aretha updates from a
doo wop item into a more deep soul number in her inimitable way.
Available to pre-order now from
Soul4Real's new/revamped website for release on 15 Jun '23.
Click on image below for link to where you can buy from.
"So Soon" is a song in the purest Van McCoy style. For me there can be no confusion because, not only recorded in 1967 by Aretha and signed Van McCoy, the voice is more that of Chris Bartley (Goldmind Soul Supply GSCD 182 - Going To The Go-Go) than that of Donnie Elbert . It is enough to listen to Donnie's recordings at that time to realize that it is not the same voice.
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